Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Its the Final Furlong

We have now done our final walkthough with our SS prior to practical completion (which is just a few days away as long as everything goes to plan). With so many final touches happening around the house, it has been really good to have taken some leave to see it all happen.

We had some really good news in the last week with the final resolution of the saga with our garage door for the shed. The initial door was delivered with a bent shaft and we had to wait about a month for the supplier to agree and then provide the replacement. With the door replaced, the shed is now finished ready for the new boat and to store our furniture until we get the keys to the house. It seems the comments from both neighbours and friends about the shed have been unanimous - "F#@K that's a big shed". It needs to be to fit the floating cash pit in it.

The painters have been frantic for the past few days completing all the external painting and doing all the touch ups inside. Overall we were really happy with the quality of the tiling and painting. On the external, the only thing that remains outstanding are the finials for the colonial features about the Entry Portico, Garage and Bedroom 1. It does feel like the colours are all ironstone/blue and dune. We're really hoping that when the timber decking is completed next week that it balances the colour scheme out.

The front door has now had its first stain. There was a bit of water/weather damage to the door that occurred between when it was installed and staining. It looks like the painter has used some sort of "reviver" to repair the door. Nonetheless, the entry door has no visible signs of repair after staining.

The kitchen is almost complete apart from the Metricon supplied appliances. The appliances are due on our practical completion/handover day. The glass splashback was installed in the last week. The splashback is probably the first thing on the house that we are regretting our selection at Studio M now. It just doesn't seem to fit with the remainder of the colours in the kitchen at the moment. At Studio M we were considering doing a tiled splashback rather than the glass one supplied as part of Metricon's "Reflections" promotion. who know's, maybe the colour will grow on us. There was a little mistake from the electricians doing the installation of the lighting. There should have been 3 batton style light fittings above the main kitchen benchtop so that we can install pendant lights later (Metricon could not supply what we wanted), however the electrician installed 3 downlights. Unfortunately, the recess made for the downlights creates quite a big hole and means that the ceiling now needs to be repaired. The airconditioning control panel and the HSTP controls have now been installed as well. We wanted these to be in the main kitchen/family room area for ease of access. The Biolytix HSTP system panel includes a audible warning if things go wrong with the unit. Basically, if the sewage system goes offline, we want to hear the warning, therefore the placement in this area. Apparently Metricon generally installs the HSTP controls in the laundry.

We were asked in the last few days for some more details and photos of the bathroom and ensuite areas. Our tile selections made at Studio M we posted here. I have included some updated photos of these areas. We really wanted a deep brown/chocolate colour in these areas to contrast with the stark white floor tiles. Metricon generally includes 2 m high wall tiles from their standard range only to the shower recess. We decided at Studio M to continue this tiling all the way around the bathroom and ensuite at 2m height to add a more strong effect. Looking back now, we should have taken the tiles to ceiling height.

We have located a bit of an issue with the installation of our rainwater tank. The tank was supposed to be located as close as possible to the far wall to leave the window uncovered, like it is on the plan. Our SS is looking at how they can fix this.

It is about time that we introduced the security for the house site, yup Brucie has been on the job since day one.

4 comments:

Thanks for stopping by my blog Drew - and thanks even more for the good advice.This is my 3rd build and 5th house so you'd think it would all be a breeze by now. Our broker is still trying his hardest, but we are now in danger of missing our Dec 10th site start if we don't sign the loan papers.

That's QUITE a house you're building there. I've just had a quick skim through your blog, but I'll be back later to check it out thoroughly. Your ensuite looks AMAZING!

Hi guys, looking good. If the plan shows the water tank elsewhere, nail them to the wall. The plan is supreme unless a variation says otherwise. I'd be going nuts about the tank covering the window. Regards Charlie

Drew and Maya

We're a young couple living on the Sunshine Coast and taking our next big project. After a few years of moving around we've decided to plant our feet and build a home (rather than buying someone elses)like we've done before!!
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